I am assuming since everyone says to shop when the ships are not in port that the prices go up when the first line is thrown am I right, with the reverse also being true the ships leave and the prices go back down
right or wrong

thanks

Indytom,

I believe you've misunderstould the suggestion.

People will tell you to avoid shopping in Philipsberg when the ships are in but the reason is because it becomes very crowded and congested when there are multiple ships in town. From my experience, the prices are pretty stable all of the time.

Over a lot of years, we've always found the best time to go to town is early in the a.m, like 7:30 - 8am or so. Parking can easily be found in a couple of pay lots or along Pondfill Rd. and the traffic tends to be lighter then. If you wait a little longer you get into the workday traffic and it can be a short but tedious drive. We generally have breakfast once we get into town - Passangrahan, Holland House or any of a number of other places, and then we shop once the stores are open and ready for business. By 11:00 or so, parking becomes premium and cruise ship crowds have gotten there, too. By the time we head back to our resort the traffic heading in has often ground to a standstill.

One word of caution regarding parking - make sure you stick to parking in the lots or in designated spots. If there's doubt in your mind as to the legitimacy of other parking spots, don't do it. They tow cars parked illegally.

Respectfully,

pat
:-) :-)

I would also suggest shopping after 4 pm. Most of the cruisers are heading back to their ships.

Thanks a bunch for your info last time i was in st martin i was one of those cruise ship shoppers
never thought i was keepin the ones stayin for a week from spendin cash